JBL Bar 5.1 - Channel 4K Ultra HD Soundbar with True Wireless Surround Speakers

I have to start off by saying I'm not a tech-savvy guy... like not at all. Despite my disability with technology, I was able to have this up and running within minutes. I wanted to summarize my experience with the setup in the hopes it helps you guys out. I should mention I plugged this system into a Samsung TV, which apparently makes the process easier, especially when it comes to your TV remote being able to control the volume on the soundbar. For me, this happened automatically. My TV remote started controlling the JBL soundbar on its own. Awesome!The system includes some hardware to hang your soundbar and also to hang your small rear speakers, which I thought was really cool.Everything was literally plug-and-play. I powered on the soundbar, powered on the subwoofer and they both automatically communicated with each other and paired up without me doing anything else. My biggest complaint about the setup process was the difficulty I had trying to plug in the power cord into the back of the soundbar. The angle is very awkward, but I got it done.There are four HDMI plugs in the back of the soundbar, one of them is labeled HDMI ARC. This is the one you're supposed to use with your TV (Took a while for me to figure that out). I'm also using an optical cable that is also plugged into the back of the soundbar and goes to the TV. Unfortunately, when you turn off the TV and go to turn everything back on, the soundbar defaults back to HDMI ARC, so I had to manually change the source on the soundbar back to OPT. The only fix I saw was to unplug the HDMI ARC and only leave the Optical cable plugged in. This seemed to do the job. Why would I need both sources anyhow? The reason I wanted to go with the Optical cable is because I heard a YouTuber mention that the HDMI signal was not as good for surround sound. In my opinion, the Optical cable sounded crisper. Which every cable you decide to use, just make sure you plug it all the way into the back of the soundbar. Mine looked like it was all the way in, but it wasn't. The other step you have to take is to go into your TV's sound settings and change the source of your sound from TV speakers to either HDMI sound or Optical.For the calibration process, make sure your surround speakers are where you'll want them when you watch TV. Also, make sure your subwoofer is turned on. There is a small calibration speaker with a pin connection that comes in the box. This "calibration speaker" (my term for it) is used to calibrate your speaker's sound for an optimum surround sound experience OR to use as a starting point to then manually improve the settings on your own if you're so inclined. Here is another goof-up I did. Do NOT plug in the pin to the back of the soundbar. It will fit perfectly, but this is NOT where the calibration speaker goes. You'll find the pin connection on the end of the right side of the soundbar. It's hard to see, but it's there. Once I had the calibration speaker plugged in, I placed it in the center of my living room. Using the JBL remote control, press the "calibration" button (the remote labeled it "calibration") for three seconds. WARNING, do NOT do this at night when your family is asleep. My wife wasn't happy when I did my calibration at midnight and she was even less impressed that I was about four vodka and sodas in. Once the calibration starts, you'll hear each speaker individually make an ear-piercing static sound. The calibration only takes a few seconds, but definitely makes a difference with the surround sound performance. I unplugged the calibration speaker and stowed it away in the event I ever have to reset my setting or I decide to move my speakers to a different location.Hope this helped.

Notes for the sound barI gave the sound bar a five star rating and here is why. I will answer some of your issues the others have had with the sound bar and be bluntly honest in regard to a course of action.Let’s just say for me it performed exactly as specified I had no issues... with that in mind let me tell you what my set up is.I have AT&T U-verse. My Internet speed is 50 MPS. And I have now a total of three surround systems two wired and my new one with the sound bar is unwired.I have had this system for a month now and I have put it to the test. The TV that is hooked up to is a 2020 LG 50 inch. My configuration is Himi -Arc. Here’s the first clue; if you hook this up to a TV that is not an LG, Samsung or a Visio this may be a problem for you. If you experience any issues whatsoever send it back get your money back and buy something else.The reason why I say that is I read probably 100 complaints about the system, looking at Amazons ratings as a month ago there was about maybe 12-13% go back rate. Which is abnormally high. This tells me that there is a quality issue coming from the factory. If you get a good one you’re good if you don’t you could have problems.I have a dual band router… This system hooks into the 5 GHz band and I have experienced no problems. I have about 14 devices on that band no issues whatsoever. If you have isolated this system and you are having problems with your Internet speed because of it - this should not happen -this system may not be for you-send it back and buy something else.Also if you experience any charging issues with this unit once again send it back get your money back and buy something else . And make sure you press the button on the speakers before reattaching them to the main bar. They will not re-charge without doing that. For me the system out of the box performed perfect. All components were automatically and perfectly paired.You need to make sure that not only your TV settings are set to surround but also the cable box settings need to be pointed to surround sound as well. I had a question in regard to the surround sound I was hearing when I first looked it up because Voices were coming through the satellite speakers in the rear so once I troubleshot that situation looked at my cable box receiver and configured that to surroundsound and it started Playing the voices out of the front channel and the effects from the satellites… Perfect!I started playing some music yesterday with my iPhone on some pre-recorded MP3s that I had and configured the speakers for surround mode… Pumped up the volume and boy did it sound good. Keep in mind I am not a sound aficionado. But I can’t afford $1000 for what some people consider the perfect sound. It puts out very very good sound for half the price and the subwoofer is the bomb. I did not have any mid range issues to speak of so it’s all good.NOTE: when it came time to calibrate the sound I did not have a port in my satellite speakers. I don’t know if that is a hardware refresh or not but it didn’t seem to need it.

Sounds great and a great buy had it for years now